Hammer.



L. s. STARREH.

HAMMER.

APPHCATION FILED AUG.2. 591.5.

ma ma Mar. 5,1918.

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HAMMER. APPLICATION FILED numz. 1915 Patented Mar. 5, 1918. 2SHEETSSHEET 2- //v I/ENTOR LARO Y J. TAPPETT A TTORNEY LAROY S.STABRETT, OF ATHOL, MASSACHUSETTS.

HAMMER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1918.

Application filed August 2, 1915. Serial No. 13,105.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAROY S. STARRETT, citizen of the United States,residing at Athol, county of Worcester, Commonwealth of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hammers, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to hammers and the like and particularly to anail placing attachment therefor.

My present invention is in the nature of an improvement on my formerpatent, dated December 1, 1903, No. 745,973, and is designed to remedycertain difficulties in the use of said former hammer by doing away withthe slot back of the nail head which was liable to get battered andclose up, thereby interfering with the action of the spring.

The present invention contemplates a nail placer which will positivelyhold the nail (before starting) and will permit instant release of thenail after the starting blow is strufik by a simple movement of thehammer itse The construction and operation of my device will be morefully described in the specification which follows. In the drawingsaccompanying that specification, I have shown two forms of my inventionwhich not only clearly illustrate the principles involved, but are inthemselves constructions found satisfactory and well adapted to therequirements of manufacture. Throughout specification and drawings likereference numerals are employed correspondingly, and in these drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan section on the line 11 of Fig. 2, of a hammerequipped with one form of my nail placing attachment,

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the hammer head,

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof,

Fig. 1 is a detail section on the line 44. of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the spring tensioned pivot for the nailplacer,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the operating device for the nailplacer,

Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2 of a moulded form of nailplacer,

Fig. 8 is an end view of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a detail section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 10, and

Fig. 10 is a detail section on the line 1010 of Fig. 8.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, the poll 1of the hammer head 2 is provided along its top face with a shallowgroove 3 in which the shank of a nail 4 is received with the head 5 ofthe nail received in a transverse recess 6 across the poll behind thegroove 3. Beyond the recess 6 the poll is formed as an enlarged bearing7 having a vertical driving wall 7 against which the head of the nailabuts. The bearing 7 has a transverse bore 8 and a longitudinal groove 9across its top face connecting with said bore 8.

Protatably mounted in the bore 8 is a spring wrappedpivot pin 10. Thepin "10 'is reduced between its ends and has a coil spring 11 wrappedabout its reduced portion. One end of the spring 11 is received in agroove formed in the body of the pin and the other end of the spring isreceived in a groove formed in the bearing 7 Fastened to the pin 10between its ends in any suitable manner is a nail holder 12. The nailholder 12 is received in the groove 9 formed in the bearing 7 with itsfree end normally lying in the groove 3 at the free end of the poll. Thegroove 9 and nail holder 12 therefore prevent lateral displacement ofthe pin 10 in its bore 8. The free end of the member 12 may be concavedslightly as indicated at 12 to conform to the shank of the nail.

Let diagonally through the poll 1 from the underside thereof is a bore13 terminating at its lower end in an enlarged recess 14. Reciprocablein the bore 13 is a release pin 15 having a head 16 disposed to engagethe under face of the member 12 and terminating at its opposite end inan enlarged head 17 exposed bevond'the recess 14 as an operating end andreceived in said recess 14: when pushed upwardly.

In using this form of my invention, the nail holder 12 is raised topermit the nail 4 to be placed in the groove 8 of the poll 1 with itshead 5 received in the cross groove 6. The nail holder 12 may be raisedby applying the thumb to the exposed end 17 of the operating device 15and pushing said device upwardly. This lifts the member 12 and effects apartial rotation of the pivot pin 10 against the action of the spring11. As soon as the pressure on the member 15 is lifted the springreturns the member 12 to frictionally clamp the nail, thereby moving theplunger 15 back to original position.

With the nail thus in position, a blow is struck with the hammer. Thebearing of the nail head 5 against the vertical wall 7 of the bearing 7drives the nail forward. The nail may then be removed from the hammer bysimply drawing the hammer downward, the member 12 yielding to permit thenail to be disengaged. The nail is now started and may be driven in theusual manner.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive, the poll 1is grooved along its under face as indicated at 18 and beyond itslongitudinal groove has an enlarged cross groove 19 to receive the head5 of the nail. The purpose of the under cut groove 18 is to receive arail which is slightly bent between its ends. The rear side of thegroove 19 extends as a vertical wall '20 against which the head of thenail bears and which wall delivers he impact to the nail in starting.Pivoted to the wall 20 between its ends at 21 is a finger lever The freeend 22 of the lever 22 engages the nail and holds it in place againstthe under face of the poll. The opposite end of the lever 22 extendsdownwardly adjacent the hammer handle 2 as a thumb operating portionFastened to the portion 23 is a blade spring 2a which is bent to conformto the portion 23 and has its free end in contact with the handle 2 ofthe hammer.

In using the nail placer of this form of my invention, the finger leveris pressed inwardly toward the hammer hand to cause its nail engagingportion 22 to rock downwardly away from the poll. The nail a is thenplaced in position against the under face of the poll 1 with its head 5received in the groove 19. The finger lever is then released and thespring 2% throws the nail engaging portion 22 thereof up against thenail to frictionally clamp it in position. The nail is started by a blowwith the hammer, the wall 20 driving the nail. The nail is released bymoving the hammer away from the nail, the member 22 yielding slightly topermit this disengagement. The nail is then driven home in the usualmanner.

lVhile I have shown and described my nail placer in its application to ahammer it will be understood that the device may be adapted to othertools without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Various other modifications in the form and construction of my devicemay obviously be resorted to without departing from the spirit of myinvention if within the limits of the appended claims.

lVhat I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In'combination with a driving implement having a nail receivinggroove, a pivoted clamping member having a concaved nail engaging endoverlying said groove, means for maintaining said end in effectiverelation to said groove, and a plunger for displacing said member topermit a nail to be laid in said groove.

In combination with a driving imple ment ha ing a supporting portion foran article to be driven, a member normally disposed in clamping relationto an article positioned upon said supporting portion, a retatable mountfor said member permitting movement of said member away from saidsupporting portion, a spring'associated with said mount and normallyQfiiQCtlVG to maintain said clamping member in article clampin relation,and a plunger disposed trans.

versely to said clamping member for swinging said clamping member awayfrom said article supporting portion to permit an at ticle to bepositioned thereon.

3. In combination with the poll of a hammer or other driving implement,said poll having a nail receiving groove and having an enlarged bearingbored transversely and grooved longitudinally, a nail clamping memberguided in said longitudinal groove of the poll and having an endeffectively disposed relative to said nail receiving groove, and a pivotfor said clamping 111G111- ber mounted in said transverse bore of thepoll and permitting movement of said member relative to said nailreceiving groove, said clamping member and guiding groove cooperatingwith the walls of said bearing adjacent said groove to prevent lateraldisplacement of said pivot, and a recip'rocable plunger disposed forengagement with said clamping member for moving said member away fromsaid nail receiving groove to permit a nail to be laid therein.

a. In combination with a driving implement having a supporting portionfor an article to be driven, a pivoted clamping member adapted toreleasably engage said article and a plunger mounted in the implementtransversely to the supporting portion and perpendicular to the clampingmember, and adapted to engage said member between its ends to move itaway from said supporting portion, thereby to permit an article to bedriven to be positioned upon said supporting portion.

5. In combination with a driving imple ment having a rigid head seat anda groove for a nail or the like, a nail clamp mounted to swing towardand away from said groove and a manually operable pin mountedtransversely in the implement head and longitudinally movable againstthe clamp to move said clamp away from the groove, thereby to permit theinsertion of a nail in said groove.

6. In combination with a driving implement having a nail receivinggroove, ameniber having an end efiectively disposed relative to saidgroove, yielding automatic means for maintaining said end in effectiverelation to said groove and a manually operable plunger projectingthrough the head of the implement and disposed perpendicularly to saidmovable member for moving said member away from said groove to permit anail to be laid in said groove.

7. In combination with a driving implement having a nail receivinggroove, a nail clamping member pivotally mounted for movement toward andaway from said groove, a spring about the pivot for said member andnormally opposing movement thereof away from said groove and adapted toreturn said member toward said groove,

"- and reciprocable means for moving said clamping member against theaction of said spring away from said groove and said means itselfreturned to original position by the said spring acting through saidclamping member.

8. In combination with a driving imple ment having an article receivinggroove terminating in a rlgid head seat on the implement, and having aguiding bore extending through the implement transversely to the groove,a movable article clamping member effectively disposed relative to saidgroove and an operating device reciprocable in said guiding bore andhaving an end adapted to engage said clamping member and having anexposed operating end.

9. A hammer having the usual poll, one side of said poll being providedwith a nail seat, a yielding clamp in opposition to said seat andmounted on the hammer body, and 5 means having a portion exposed formanual engagement on the opposite side of the poll, for lifting saidclamp from effective clamping position to permit the insertion of a nailinto the seat.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' LAROY S. STARRETT. Witnesses:

FRANK E. ING, ERNEST W. TAYLOR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by theCommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D.

